Chelsea vs. Arsenal: Diego Costa’s die-hard fans shortchange Alvaro Morata

Alvaro Morata has six goals in his last eight games: three goals for club, three goals for country. But because he did not score against Arsenal, Diego Costa dead-enders think Chelsea have taken a step backward with their new striker.

Alvaro Morata has scored three and assisted on two of Chelsea’s eight Premier League goals this season. Chelsea have finished two of their five league games and the Community Shield with fewer than 11 men on the pitch. The Blues have failed to score in only one game this season, that being the 0-0 draw to Arsenal on Sunday.

All of this is to say that Diego Costa’s public relations savvy may be the most underrated part of his game. Starting in the late stages of the derby and continuing long after the rest of us moved on with somewhat-Super Sunday, Costa’s die-hard apologists indulged in “what if” fantasies. The fantasies were not just “what if” Costa had been on the pitch. The fantasy was a mystical revision of Diego Costa’s time at Chelsea.

Alvaro Morata lost some physical battles against Shkodran Mustafi. As Morata’s frustration with Mustafi and the scoreboard grew, the Spaniard spent more time on the ground appealing for a foul.

If the second half of that sentence sounds familiar, it’s because you read it here many times in the second half of last season about Diego Costa. Despite his reputation as a physical beast, Costa chose to pursue whistles rather than goals from February until May. He single-handedly and selfishly arrested numerous counter-attacks, giving up possession and momentum while sitting aggrieved on the pitch.

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Costa would likely have jeopardized Chelsea even further with such antics given his history with Michael Oliver. Costa’s reputation for simulation preceded him from Atletico Madrid. Oliver booked Costa for simulation in the 2014/15 season-opener against Burnley. The call was ultimately incorrect upon video review, but it showed from the start that Oliver had a bead on Costa’s antics. And that was when Costa was at his best.

In 2016, Oliver gave Costa his first (and only) sending off in the Premier League. After his first yellow of the match, Costa spat at – or at least in the direction of – Oliver’s feet.

Costa would have been, at best, a like-for-like substitution for Alvaro Morata in Sunday’s derby. He would have been no more likely to score, and would not have spent any less time on the ground. At least Morata had the dignity of actually losing the battles with Mustafi and others. Costa would just take the advice of SpongeBob SquarePants: drop on the deck and flop like a fish.

And, with Michael Oliver overseeing the game, Costa would be an almost certain lock for at least a yellow card. Given Chelsea’s recent disciplinary run against Arsenal, Costa’s worsening ability to control himself and his history with Oliver, Costa could have beaten David Luiz to the dressing room.

Diego Costa’s die-hard fans regularly torture statistics to say that without Costa’s winning and tying goals, Chelsea would have been deprived of all the points in those games. As though, in Costa’s absence, Chelsea would be playing with no other striker or anyone else capable of scoring. He and his goals are truly irreplaceable.

Setting that train of thought in reverse, wherever Costa’s replacement does not score, Costa surely would. Hence the banter that Alvaro Morata failed against Arsenal where Costa would have succeeded.

Since lifting the trophy in May 2015 Diego Costa has done nothing to earn the fans’ trust, let alone the promiscuous adoration some send his way. Costa had as much potential to be a Stamford Bridge legend as he did to be one of the Premier League’s top strikers. A few more seasons like his first, and he could be forgiven some tough spells and the occasional lapse in judgment.

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Instead, Costa is coasting on a reputation he built in his first year at Chelsea. To paraphrase American footballer J.J. Watt, the fans’ respect is leased, and rent is due every day. Diego Costa is deeply in arrears, and Antonio Conte rightly signed his eviction order. Alvaro Morata deserves to be Chelsea’s No. 9 and should continue to distinguish himself from his predecessor.